


The Perfect Duet

by ViccyViccy



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Angelic singing, Classical Music, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Music, teeny bit of insecurity, zen being an amazing boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25460830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViccyViccy/pseuds/ViccyViccy
Summary: It's been a few months since MC and Zen started dating, and now it is time for her to officially move in with him. As they are unloading the moving van, Zen notices a peculiarly shaped case and asks MC about it. Looks like he's not the only performer in the house.
Relationships: Zen | Ryu Hyun & Main Character, Zen | Ryu Hyun/Main Character, Zen | Ryu Hyun/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	The Perfect Duet

**Author's Note:**

> This story is basically just me projecting myself onto MC and being cute with Zen <3  
> Anyway here's some actual background for the story: MC had been going to University before the events of Zen's route happened, and after the party she finished up her last few months of school and graduated. She had been living in a dorm while going to school, so she finished her stay there, but after graduation she was given the choice of returning to her parent's house or moving in with Zen. Pretty easy choice. She spent about a week after graduation planning and packing, and the story begins on moving day.

You surveyed your childhood bedroom one last time. It was a somewhat small room, but you got by with it. The walls were painted a bright teal color with black trim. You remembered picking out those colors and painting the room yourself. It was a fun memory, but you had outgrown the style now. In fact you had outgrown the whole room. Between your bed, bedside table, bookshelf, dresser, and desk, the room always felt crowded. You kept all your belongings in that room to protect them from nosy siblings, but at times it just felt really claustrophobic. Not today though. The only furniture remaining was a bed, bedside table, and an old toy chest. You had a few old toys and other knick knacks stored in the chest. There was no real reason to bring them along, and your parents didn't mind saving those things for when you had kids of her own that could use them. Not that kids were on your mind at all right now-- you were fresh out of college and wanted to live a little before settling down with a family. 

You sighed that thought out of your mind as you took one last nostalgic look out the window. The backyard was quite plain besides the large swimming pool that took up about half the yard space. It was a spontaneous purchase that your father made during middle school, but one that the whole family thoroughly enjoyed. Zen had even come over a few times for a swim.

Ahhhh Zen. You could never look away from him in the pool. The way the water droplets reflected sunlight off of his perfectly toned muscles and how his radiant white skin just glowed. You flushed red just thinking about it, and slapped your hands to your cheeks. You would be spending a lot of time with that beautiful man now, so you needed to stop getting so flustered. You smiled softly as you closed the curtains and went downstairs to meet your father and brother who were waiting with the small moving van.

"On my way :)" you texted Zen.

You took the lead in your car, while your father and brother followed along like a parade. You were in your own car, your father was in the moving van, and your brother was in his car so he could take your father home after returning the rental truck. You arrived first, of course, and parked at the closest spot near Zen's building. As luck would have it, there were two empty spaces next to you that your father and brother parked in. As your father backed into the parking space to make unloading easier, you descended down the cement steps and excitedly knocked at Zen's door. 

Zen quickly opened the door. "Welcome home, Princess!" he cheered as he gave you a big welcoming hug.

You happily hugged him back. "Happy to finally be home," you smiled. Even though you had only stayed here on a few occasions, the apartment felt incredibly homey and comfortable and you couldn't be more excited to stay there permanently. Not to mention you would be with Zen all the time. "My dad and Ji-ho are over there with my stuff," you said as you pointed towards the moving van, which could just barely be seen from where they were standing.

"Well then, let's go help them out," he smiled.

The two of you walked swiftly up the cement steps to help unload the truck. Zen shook your father's hand and made some polite conversation before they opened the truck hatch and started taking boxes out. 

You were fairly strong, but Zen wouldn't let you take any large boxes by yourself, especially since there were stairs involved. He would carry them with you, walking backwards down the stairs while you looked forward from the top. All the boxes were labeled so you placed each in different rooms as you brought them in to keep the front room clear. Clothes- bedroom, books- office, misc.- living room. 

As the front cardboard boxes cleared out, all that was left was a little furniture, namely your bookshelf, dresser, and desk, but also your cello case. Zen approached you and looked at the case, perplexed.

"Hmm, what's this?" he asked as he undid the straps keeping it steady in the truck.

"Oh, that's my old cello," you responded casually. You suddenly realized that you must not have mentioned that you played to Zen because his eyes lit up with wonder.

"I didn't know that you played!" he said excitedly, "You'll have to show me later!"

"Oh, um, I guess I can," you said shyly. You were a bit out of practice, but didn't want to admit that to him just yet. 

"But let's finish unpacking first, you know how I am about being organized," you said confidently in order to sway his attention away from the cello. Although it wasn't a total lie, you had to be organized to be a good party planner.

He smiled in agreement and handed you the cello case. You descended the stairs alone with it, as Zen was waiting for your father and Ji-ho to return to the truck to help with the larger furniture. 

Your father held the door open for you as you entered the apartment with your cello. You looked around trying to think of the best room to place it. You quickly decided that Zen's office/ practice room would probably be the most fitting place for it, so you put it in an empty corner. 

As you were leaving that room you saw Zen and your father approaching with your desk, so you held the office door open so that they could come in easily. It was placed near the corner you had set your cello in, and you couldn’t help but notice Zen’s eyes trail to it as he settled the desk into position. That moment didn’t last long, as there were still more things to unload, so the three of you left the room to do that. 

You and Zen brought your dresser into the bedroom while Ji-ho and your father brought your bookshelf into the living room. And just like that everything had been brought inside. Now you just had to unpack your things from the boxes, which was something you and Zen could handle on your own, so you thanked your father and brother and sent them on their way. With the two of you now alone, Zen twirled you around and leaned you over his arm, his face hovering over yours with a grin. 

“Now you’re all mine,” he said in a playfully sexy way. He started to lean in for a kiss, but you pressed your index finger to his lips. His eyes fluttered open quickly.

“Not yet Mr. Casanova, we still have a lot of work to do,” you giggled. 

He raised you back up and let out a dramatic sigh. “Not even a little kissy,” he pleaded.

“Ok, you can have a little kissy,” you smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. He seemed satisfied enough with that, so you lightly grabbed his hand and skipped cheerfully along into the bedroom. Maybe it wasn’t the best choice after that interaction, but putting away your clothes seemed like the best place to start. You tore open one of the boxes and began laying clothes out on the bed.

Zen had already cleared a section of the closet for your clothes. He went into the living room to turn on the stereo to liven up the chores while you laid out your clothes into different piles on the bed. He returned mouthing along to the words of the song that was playing-  _ Girls Like You _ by Maroon 5. No doubt he had put on the playlist that you guys made together. This song was his addition of course. You smiled and mouthed along too as you finished up the first box of clothes. 

“Hunny could you hang these in the closet for me,” you said sweetly, motioning towards one of the piles.

“Yes, of course, Princess,” he replied with a smile. 

So far that pile mostly just had dresses and more formal attire since it is more fragile and you didn’t want to shove it in your dresser with your t- shirts and other casual clothes, and you had a sneaking suspicion that he was going to go into compliment overload in three.. two.. one…

“Ooh this is such a pretty color,” he said as he held up a simple maroon dress. 

It wasn’t a dress you particularly liked, in fact you thought it made you look like a middle-aged woman, but hearing Zen give his praises to it made you feel less self-conscious about it. 

“Oh thank you,” you blushed, “That was actually the dress I wore to homecoming my freshman year. I haven’t really worn it since.”

“I see..” he said, eyeing the dress once again. “Did you coordinate with friends or anything? Who’d you go with?” he asked with an innocent curiosity.

“I had a boyfriend at the time who took me,” you said hesitantly, meeting his gaze then looking away. Even though that boyfriend was nothing special to you anymore, you couldn’t help but feel Zen’s jealousy rise just by bringing up another man. “He was no fun at all though, the guy didn’t want to dance or anything so we just awkwardly sat at the table most of the time,” you chuckled, trying to bring down the tension.

“Coward,” Zen uttered under his breath. “If I were lucky enough to have you as a homecoming date I would sweep you off your feet and we would dance the night away,” he declared, dramatically flipping his hair. 

“Like you did that one time at the nightclub,” you said cheekily.

“Yes, but without the alcohol,” he joked. At least the tension was gone.

The two of you were able to power through the rest of your clothes in about 20 minutes. He still gave compliments on your other dresses, but no others had boy stories attached to them, so no more awkward conversations ensued. After finishing up with your clothes you neatly set up some of your cosmetics on his vanity and out other beauty products in a little bathroom cupboard that he had reserved for you. 

As you finished up Zen was standing in the doorway humming along to the current song-  _ The Longest Time _ by Billy Joel. This was one of your additions to the playlist. You’d always liked Billy Joel, but this song was especially nostalgic because you and your best friend used to play a duet of it in orchestra class all the time. And that’s when you remembered Zen’s reaction to your cello. It’s not like the topic could be avoided, and you weren’t trying to hide it from him, you just weren’t sure that you could muster up the courage to play anything solo. You could at least tease him a bit by procrastinating if he brought it up. It seemed as if he read your mind because the next words out of his mouth were-

“If we’re all done here why don’t we move on to the office so you can show me that pretty cello of yours,” he said with a smile.

_ No, I’m not ready yet _ you panicked internally.

“Why don’t we grab lunch first?” you suggested, “All this work is making me kind of hungry.”

“Ok, sure..” he trailed off, “Anything specific you want? I didn’t go shopping just yet since I wanted you to go with me, but we could order something.”

“Hmmm, how about Mexican food? It’s been a while,” you said.

“Sounds good to me,” he agreed, “I think I have a takeout menu somewhere in the kitchen for this good place a couple blocks away. Give me just a second.” He quickly turned around to go to the kitchen.

You let out a soft sigh of relief, but you felt as though Zen was a little suspicious, even if he didn’t show it. That was the actor in him. You started to head towards the kitchen, but met him halfway in the living room. 

“Here you go,” he said as he handed the worn paper menu to you. You quickly examined the options on the front before flipping the page to a much larger selection in the middle. 

“I think I’ll get the chicken fajita with a side of rice,” you decided.

“That’s one of my favorites,” Zen chuckled, “I think I’ll get that too.” You handed Zen back the menu and he dialed the number on the cover. 

You pulled out your own phone and scrolled through your notifications as Zen talked with the restaurant staff. Nothing of much importance, you dismissed them all. You opened Twitter and started mindlessly scrolling until Zen’s voice woke you up-

“Lunch will be ready in about 20 minutes,” he said, “What do you want to do in the meantime?”

“I dunno,” you shrugged, “I guess we can relax for a bit.” You turned to sit on the couch that was just behind you, phone still in hand scrolling. Zen joined you, wrapping his arm around you and pulling you close as he took out his own phone to check the RFA chatroom. Nothing much had been said today. The two of you sat comfortably quiet, the only noise being the still playing stereo, for about 10 minutes before Zen stood up.

“Now is probably a good time to go,” Zen noted, “You coming along for the ride?”

_ I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind going, but if I stay that means I could warm up a bit and not royally embarrass myself later. But I feel like I’ve been acting really strange today, he might get suspicious if I say no. I just moved in and I already feel like I’m causing problems. It might be worth it to stay, you can always explain yourself later, and even play it off like you wanted to surprise him or something. Ugh either way this was a predicament. Better say- _

“No, I should probably start taking care of these books,” you said as you motioned toward your bookshelf and a large cardboard box, “It’s a quick and easy job and it’ll make this front room feel less cramped.” You had done your fair share of bull shit excuses in your lifetime, but you couldn’t help but feel guilty using them on Zen. 

“Oh, ok. Are you sure?” he asked, his crimson eyes peering into yours as if he were examining the validity of your words. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” you said with a small smile, “Plus I can start brewing some fresh tea to have with the meal.”

“Alright,” he sighed, and gave you a quick hug before grabbing his keys and walking towards the door.

“Be back soon, Princess,” he said with a smile.

You smiled too and gave a little wave. As soon as the door shut you tore open the cardboard box with your books in it with one thing in mind.

_ It’s gotta be in here somewhere _ you thought as you fingered through all your novels. You started throwing them on the shelf in no particular order until you saw it. Your green sheet music book. You had a couple of loose sheets of warm ups and etudes thrown in there, but the book itself had several classical solos in it, namely the iconic Suite No. 1 in G Major by Johann Sebastian Bach. Pretty much every cello player at some point in their career had played it, and for you it was your junior year of high school. It was the only solo you ever performed at a music festival- ensembles were more of your thing. It was fun performing, but being a solo player was incredibly nerve-wracking, hence why you only did that once. Not to mention you were outclassed by many of your peers, and felt that your solos were nothing compared to theirs. You were a decent player, but nowhere near the best. In your senior orchestra class you were third chair. You hadn’t anticipated being first- two of your classmates had been taking private lessons since elementary and were leagues above the rest, but then this freshman transferred to the class second semester and was on par with them, pushing you further behind. You tried to push that memory out of your head and focus on the task at hand.

_ I have roughly 20 minutes before Zen gets back. I need to tune and warm up in 5 minutes and spend the rest just going through the Suite. Just Movement 1 will be fine. That’s the tune everybody knows anyway.  _

You hurried into the office and unzipped your case to reveal the shiny wooden instrument. It was a gorgeous cherry-wood color, one that you picked out freshman year. Despite its age, you took good care of it so it looked nearly brand new. You extended the end pin then plucked each string. It was horrendously out of tune. That’s what you get for not touching it for four years. 

You pulled out your phone for your tuning app, only to realize that it had long been deleted. Oh wait! Zen had a keyboard in the corner, you could use that. You quickly rosined your bow and approached the keyboard. You pressed a key, hummed and adjusted the pegs. As you got closer to the right pitch you fidgeted with the fine tuners. After doing this four times, you plucked each string, then used your harmonics to ensure that the instrument was in tune with itself. It sounded good. Now, to actually play.

You started with some two and three octave scales that knew from memory. You had to do a lot of adjusting to try and retrain your fingers to go to the right position, but your overall pitch wasn’t horrible. Everything was just a hair sharp, or a tiny bit flat. These close but not quite in tune notes were the bane of your director’s existence, and he frequently reminded you that “almost in tune” was not “in tune”. You shook your head.  _ Focus. You don’t have a lot of time. _ You glanced at the clock. It had been 10 minutes already.

_ Damn, he’s probably on his way home already. Better start on the actual piece. _

You set up your music on a stand that Zen had in the room for his scripts. It had a couple of small booklets that you set off to the side in order to place your own large book. 

You looked over the piece. All of your old pencil markings indicating finger positions and shifting were still scribbled in, just slightly faded. It wasn’t going to be easy, but you thought that once you started playing it would probably come back to you.

And so you did. The first section came rather quickly- you had practiced that beginning part more than any other section. Things started to get a little messy after that fermata though. You only vaguely remembered what the second half of the piece sounded like so it was a battle between your memory and what the music was actually telling you. Neither were winning. You decided to quickly reinstall your metronome app to help you keep tempo in the second section. Rhythm was always step one. Even though the piece was mostly just 16th notes it was easy to get caught up holding one note just a little long or play another one just a little short and throw off the flow of the piece. You put an earbud in and began again.

The metronome blasting in your ear seemed to help. Although you did have to stop and start over after several attempts, it was more or less coming together. Of course you still needed to smoothen out your bow strokes and overall tone, but that wasn’t something you could fix immediately. Only about 5 more minutes until Zen would likely be back. You had time for one more full run, then you had to quickly pack and run back to the living room to make it look like you were actually taking care of your books. You took a deep breath and started the piece over again.

As your fingers danced across the strings, your intense focus began feeling more light, free, and musical. The piece was actually starting to sound good. You smiled, that emotion fueling your performance. All of your little mistakes seemed unnoticeable. As you played the final chord, you felt yourself end in a slow dramatic pause much like a professional, allowing the audience a moment to absorb the emotions played for them before breaking out into intense applause. Even though you were alone, you could have sworn you heard applause. No way. You quickly stood up and turned around to see Zen’s smiling face wildly applauding in the doorway.

You stood there stunned as the blood rushed to your face. How long had he been standing there? Were you really so focused on playing that you didn’t hear him come in? What was he going to say about you lying?

Zen approached you, still beaming, “I knew you were up to something,” he said as he pulled you into a hug. 

“How much did you hear?” you asked nervously.

“Most of it, actually; although the first part was a bit muffled since I was just outside the front door.”

“Oh,” you said softly.

“Were you trying to surprise me?” he asked cheekily.

_ I could say yes, but I feel bad enough about lying earlier. I’ll be better off being honest here. _

“Well… not exactly,” you confessed, “When I saw how excited you were to see the cello I was worried that you’d be disappointed with how bad of a player I am… I haven’t touched this since highschool, and even then I was a mediocre player. I just wanted to get some practice in before you inevitably asked again so I wouldn’t let you down”

“Oh hunny, I would never think that of you,” he reassured you, “And with what I just heard, I don’t know how you can call yourself a ‘bad player’. You sounded absolutely amazing. I could really feel your emotions through your performance.”

You felt a few tears coming to your eyes. It wasn’t unlike Zen to shower you in praises, but this time just felt different; more meaningful. You were insecure about your performance, and vulnerable. Perhaps he knew just what to say because he was a performer too. Surely he must have felt like this in his early career from time to time.

“I’m sorry,” you said as you set down your instrument and embraced him, your face buried in his chest. He reciprocated the motion, his warm body enveloping you.

“You don’t need to apologize for anything,” he said as he softly stroked your hair. “I know how it feels to want to perfect a performance.”

You slowly pulled away and smiled. Of course he did.

Seeing you smile clearly put Zen at ease too, as he placed a kiss on your forehead and took your hand in his. 

“You still hungry for lunch, Princess?” he asked sweetly.

“Yeah, I don’t want it to get cold,” you chuckled. 

Zen sat you down at the table as he emptied the contents of the paper bag. You each had your own styrofoam container plus a bottle of sweet tea. The contents of the fajita were separated, so you used the plastic fork provided to put all your fillings on the tortillas. After taking a few bites you decided to start up a musical conversation to see how much of a band nerd Zen was, if at all.

“So do you play any instruments or are you strictly a vocalist?” you asked.

“Hmmm,” Zen’s eyes flickered, “Well I did play a little piano when I was younger. But after my parents realized that music was becoming less of a hobby and more of a career plan for me they stopped my lessons. Without the piano I only had my voice, but I always preferred singing anyway. It’s not like they could take my voice away from me.”

You nodded as he spoke. Even though Zen didn’t show any sadness telling that story, you couldn’t help but feel bad for him. 

“Do you still practice with that keyboard in the office?” you asked curiously.

“Well… yes and no,” he replied, “I don’t really practice actual piano music, I just use it when I’m practicing vocals to make sure I’m in tune.”

“Fair enough,” you said as you took another bite of your fajita. 

“How about you, MC?” he started. “You’ve clearly played cello for a while, but do you have any other musical talents that you’ve hidden from me?” he winked.

“Nope, just cello,” you chuckled, relieved that it was no longer an uncomfortable topic, “I started in middle school, but I stopped in college to focus more on my major.”

“I kind of regret that, actually,” you admitted. Despite your deeply rooted feelings of inferiority, you still always enjoyed playing in ensembles. In fact Orchestra had always been your favorite class. “I miss playing with people.”

“I might not be the best piano player, but I’d be happy to play duets with you,” Zen suggested with a smile, “Or I could sing, that might be better actually.”

You felt your heart melt. Who better to play with than the man who had suddenly reignited your passion for music. “That would be perfect!” you said excitedly.

“Speaking of which…” Zen spoke then stopped. You looked around trying to catch his meaning, then a smile crossed your face as you heard the song playing on the stere. 

“Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. Another one of Zen’s contributions to your playlist. You know he meant the pun in “perfect”, but you couldn’t help but think that this would be the “perfect” song to duet. Sure the main instrument was a guitar, but it’s not like cellos were common in pop music. Besides, it would be easy enough to emulate through pizzicato. The only thing you would be missing is the drumset, but it wasn’t that prominent in the song anyway so that could be overlooked.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” you asked with a smirk.

“Oh yeah,” he smirked back. 

You both quickly finished the rest of your meal then returned to the office. You sat in the chair where you had been practicing your cello earlier and brought the instrument up over your body, then whipped out your phone to search for some music. After a bit of scrolling you found a cello duet. Not exactly what you were looking for, but you could always make some adjustments. Upon further inspection one part was the melody, aka what Zen would be singing, and the other part was the accompaniment. You set the phone on the stand and started to pluck the first couple lines. It was hard to see clearly on the small phone screen, so you’d have to print out a copy, but this was a promising start. 

Zen had his earbuds in, humming along to the song. This was probably going to be easier for him than it was for you since he was already pretty familiar with the song and gave the impression that it was not his first time singing along. 

You smiled at the thought of him singing that song in the shower or around the house as he did chores as you went to the computer to print off that music. As you sat in the computer desk chair he walked slowly towards you. His soft humming transitioned into singing as he wrapped his arms over you-

_ “I don’t deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight” _

You felt as if all the negativity that had ever been in your life was washed away. His voice was so warm… so loving… so beautiful… so  _ perfect _ . You brought your left arm up across your chest and rested in over his hand as you used your right to continue navigating the computer.

_ “Baby, I’m dancing in the dark, with you between my arms _

_ Barefoot on the grass, we’re listenin’ to our favorite song _

_ I have faith in what I see _

_ Now I know I have met an angel in person _

_ And she looks perfect _

_ No, I don’t deserve this _

_ You look perfect tonight” _

You clicked print just as he finished the last line. Next thing you knew, you were standing up, lips pressed on his. It was a long, deep, romantic kiss. When it broke apart you smiled and leaned in for one more, hugging him tighter. He did the same. The hardest part about this duet wasn’t going to be your own music, it was going to be resisting the urge to collapse in Zen’s arms every time he sang.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a few days of practicing, you guys were finally going to record a video to send to the other RFA members. As much as you loved performing for each other, it’d be nice to have a “real” audience. You set up a makeshift tripod with your phone and a stack of books on your desk in the office. The two of you set yourselves up at a 45 degree angle so you easily look at the camera, and at each other. You did some last minute tuning and plucking as Zen set up the camera. Even though you had memorised your part, you didn’t want to make any mistakes and have to retape it. 

“Ready, Princess?” he asked as you were still deep in thought.”

“Yup,” you smiled.

“Ok, starting the tape now… we can just cut this part out before we send it to the members,” he said sweetly. He walked past you on the way to his spot, placing a quick goodluck kiss on your cheek. You smiled as he glanced down at you from his position. He gave three small nods- a tempo indication and cue to start. He had the pickup notes, but you soon joined in with your plucked arpeggios. 

The whole performance felt magical. The way his singing and your playing just harmonized and flowed together was, well,  _ perfect _ . Zen made beautiful flowing gestures as he sang, and you couldn’t help but feel entranced by him. Your actions were a bit more limited given that you had to sit and play, but you swayed with the music and made eye contact every so often. You two had even unknowingly coordinated glances towards the camera. Even after just one take you felt confident that was the one. 

Zen took the phone down from the “tripod” and stopped the recording. He kneeled next to where you were sitting to replay the video. You blushed a little watching him kiss you, but you knew that would be cut out of the video you were sending to the RFA. As the song started, all your focus was on Zen. You couldn’t help it, he had the kind of presence that just drew all eyes towards him. Not to mention he was singing to you. Yes of course he was singing to whoever was watching, but this was one of your special songs. He added it to your playlist with you in mind. You were so entranced by it, you were surprised it was over so fast.

“So… what do you think of take one?” Zen asked.

“Perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if the story seemed a bit messy, I didn't really have a clear story line in mind when I started writing, I just knew I wanted a duet. Speaking of which, thoughts on that? I know there are a few really good stories out there with vocal duets, but as an instrumentalist I wanted to spice things up (and make them more personal too i guess lol).  
> Here was the vid that inspired me to choose this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgbFH5_dfZE


End file.
